SMSU MEN’S BASKETBALL: No. 4 SMSU opens up NCAA Tournament versus No. 5 Missouri Southern
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MARSHALL - The No. 4 seeded Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team (24-8) opens play at the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Maryville, Missouri today facing No. 5 seed, the Missouri Southern State University Lions (20-9), starting at 8:15 p.m. at Bearcat Arena.
•SMSU is making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth overall in team history.
•The winner of today’s game will play on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in the region semifinals versus the winner of No. 1 Northwest Missouri State and No. 8 Minnesota State.
•The Central Region Tournament features three teams ranked among the top eight in this week’s NABC Top 25.
•SMSU received two votes for this week’s NABC Top 25 poll.
SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NCAA
TOURNAMENT
•SMSU is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history since moving to Division II in 1996.
•SMSU is 8-4 in 12 all-time tournament games.
•SMSU has appeared in three region championship games winning titles in both 2001 and 2009.
SMSU all-time in the NCAA Tournament
March 9, 2001 – W, Winona State, 88-77
March 10, 2001 – W, Fort Hays State, 82-63
March 11, 2001 – W, St. Cloud State, 67-65 – Region Championship
March 21, 2001 – L, Kentucky Wesleyan, 85-66 – NCAA Elite Eight
March 14, 2009 – W, Northern State, 69-47
March 15, 2009 – W, Minnesota State, 77-69
March 17, 2009 – W, Augustana, 73-60 – Region Championship
March 25, 2009 – L, Cal Poly Pomona, 79-74 – NCAA Elite Eight
March 10, 2012 – L, MSU Moorhead, 82-66
March 11, 2017 – W, Arkansas Tech, 93-82
March 12, 2017 – W, East Central, 74-70
March 14, 2017 – L, NW Missouri State, 55-52 – Region Championship
10-GAME
WINNING STREAK THIRD LONGEST
•SMSU’s 10-game winning streak that ended in the NSIC Tournament championship game last week was the third longest in team history and the longest since the 2008-09 NCAA Elite Eight team won 15 straight.
•The 2000-01 team that also advanced to the Elite Eight holds the program record with 17 consecutive victories.
20-WIN SEASONS IN TEAM HISTORY
•The 24 victories this season ranks as the fourth highest in team history.
•SMSU has recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons for just the second time in program history and has a total of six 20-win seasons in team history.
•The last time SMSU won 20 or more games in back-to-back seasons came during the 2000-01 and 2001-02 campaigns.
MUSTANG
TIP-OFF TIDBITS
•Seniors Turner Moen and Carter Kirk are both tied for fourth in team history with 122 games played and will tie the school record on Saturday. Ryan Krome, Andrew Peschong (2006-10) and Kevin Andrews (2006-10).
•Michael Lee has made 75 3-pointers this season moving into 10th in team single-season history.
•SMSU has committed 11 or less turnovers in its last 11 game games.
•SMSU is shooting 48.7 percent from the field this season which ranks tied for fifth in team history. Seven of the top nine shooting teams in program history have come under the direction of head coach Brad Bigler.
•SMSU has made eight or more 3-pointers in 17 of its last 22 games.
•SMSU finished with 12 home victories this season. It’s the first time since 2013-14 that SMSU has reached double figures in home wins.
SERIES HISTORY
VS. MISSOURI SOUTHERN & MIAA/GAC FOES
•Today’s game will be the first time Southwest Minnesota State and Missouri Southern have played in men’s basketball.
•SMSU is 3-3 all-time versus Northwest Missouri State, including 1-2 at Bearcat Arena.
•SMSU is 1-1 all-time versus Washburn, winning in Topeka, Kansas, 90-65 during the 1995-96 season, while Washburn won 65-58 on Dec. 19, 2004, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
•SMSU and Southern Nazarene have never faced each other.
SCOUTING
MISSOURI
SOUTHERN STATE
•Missouri Southern enters the tournament with a 20-9 record and finished second in the MIAA with a record of 15-4.
•The Lions had an eight-game winning streak snapped in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament last weekend.
•MSSU is 1-3 versus NSIC teams this season, losing to St. Cloud State, Minnesota State and Northern State, while defeating Wayne State. All the games took place in November as MSSU opened the season with a 2-5 record.
•CJ Carr, a first team All-MIAA pick, is averaging a team-high 18 ppg with 58 3-pointers while dishing out a team-high 168 assists. He also ranks 15th in Division II with 64 steals.
•Elyjah Clark, named second team All-MIAA and a member of the MIAA All-Defensive team, is scoring 16.8 ppg and is averaging a team-high 6.7 rpg. Clark also leads the team with 105 3-pointers which ranks sixth in Division II. His 3.6 3-pointers per game also ranked sixth in Division II.
•MSSU is shooting 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range, 74 percent from the free throw line and is plus-3.7 in rebound margin.
•MSSU is scoring 82 points per game, while opponents are averaging 77 per game.
•Head coach Jeff Boschee, the 2017-18 MIAA Coach of the Year, is in his fourth season with a record of 76-44.
Content courtesy
of SMSU Athletic
Communications